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Antonio Campus

I am an archaeologist, Ph.D., specialized in classical archaeology and currently working as a postdoctoral researcher. I have several years of professional and academic experience, with a background in Archaeology Methods and Theory and Roman Archaeology. My main interests are in:

  • Roman Archaeology, with a focus on architecture and urbanism;
  • Landscape Archaeology, with a focus on GIS modelling, people-environment and urban-rural interrelationship;
  • Digital Archaeology, with a focus on spatial and statistical analysis, Open Data and Big Data in archaeology;
  • Archaeology Methods and Theory, with a focus on stratigraphic excavation and the creation and interpretation of the archaeological record.

 

As an undergraduate student, I trained in the excavations of Populonia (Tuscany, Italy), where I also had my first experiences as supervisor. After a bachelor's thesis dedicated to ceramic material from the excavations of Populonia, my interests focused mainly on the application of digital methods to the study of architecture and urbanism during my master's degree, participating in several research projects and engaging, during my thesis, in the architectural study and three-dimensional reconstruction of the Roman Baths ‘of Nero’ in Pisa.

During my Postgraduate and Ph.D. theses, my previously developed interests declined in the diachronic study of urban and rural landscapes, combining a solid theoretical-methodological approach with a strong digital perspective. My doctoral project (awarded in October 2022) aimed at the combined analysis of the city and territory of Pisa between the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods for an assessment of the people-environment interrelationship and the definition of the settlement pattern transformations. My activities included the systematic collection and digitization in a GIS system of all available archaeological and paleoenvironmental legacy data and the application of several spatial analyses (Point Pattern Analysis, geostatistical analysis, regression models) to delineate some macro settlement-environmental trends in a multi-period perspective, observing the global pattern and spotting presences and absences.

In addition, during my training and subsequent years I participated in several field research projects (Acropolis of Populonia, Sanctuary of Baal Hammon-Saturn at Althiburos in Tunisia, Baths ‘of Nero’ and Area Scheibler in Pisa, Gardens of the Fathers' Cells of the Certosa di Calci, Pisa) and large-scale archaeological projects, such as the MAPPA Project (collection and digitization of legacy data on the urban area of Pisa), the H2020-funded ArchAIDE Project (AI training dataset of archaeological ceramics), the Certosa Project (Garden Archaeology, GIS, geognostic coring, etc. ), the Pisa Progetto Suburbio (legacy data and urban excavations), and the Digital Library of the Department of Civilizations and Forms of Knowledge of the University of Pisa.



The study of the agricultural potential of imperial Rome and its surroundings aims to reconstruct the productive landscapes and ancient agricultural systems of the city's hinterland. The first objective involves the development of a multi-criteria model of the agricultural suitability of landscape sub-units, based on environmental variables (geomorphological, geological, soil, water availability or other measures of soil quality) and historical land-use information obtained from the Gregorian Cadastre. The model outputs will be used to develop a data-driven workflow useful for exploring, also in relation to the catchment areas, the relationships between the distribution and density of villae, farms and production sites and environmental co-variables. Spatial and statistical analyses will be employed for an in-depth and detailed examination, inferring large-scale trends through the cumulative product of defined narrow areas and interregional comparison of results. Finally, the definition of agricultural potential will be implemented through the exploration of a wide range of possible agricultural configurations and farm landscape management patterns (farm sizes, different polyculture configurations), quantifying agriculture in terms of subsistence and surplus production, in accordance with the agricultural practices and specific crop yields indicated by Roman agricultural writers. In a broader perspective, agricultural production directly affects the distribution of settlements, demography, urbanization, and the economy. For this reason, the study of agricultural potential may prove to be a powerful means of advancing our understanding of the historical processes of Rome and its hinterland in the imperial age.

orcid id: 0000-0001-9688-0206

Mail: antonio.campus@sns.it

Deposited publications available on Academia 

  • Gattiglia, G., Rattighieri, E., Clò, E., Anichini, F., Campus, A., Rossi, M., Buonincontri, M., & Mercuri, A. M. (2023). Palynology of gardens and archaeobotany for the environmental reconstruction of the Charterhouse of Calci-Pisa in Tuscany (Central Italy). Quaternary, 6(3), 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/quat6030045
  • Campus, A., Anichini, F., Gattiglia, G., Buonincontri, M., Naime, Y., & Rossi, M. (2023). Multiproxy archaeological investigation and Garden Archaeology in the Charterhouse of Calci (Tuscany, central Italy) and its territory: results and research data. ArcheoLogica Data, 3, 167-189. https://doi.org/10.13131/unipi/0e4s-vx26
  • Basile, S., & Campus, A. (2023). Integrating Point Pattern Analysis and Logistic Regression Approaches for Exploring the Settlement Pattern of the Versilia and Garfagnana Mountains in Roman Times. Archeologia e Calcolatori, 34(2). 87-104. https://doi.org/10.19282/ac.34.2.2023.05
  • Fabiani, F., Basile, S., Campus, A., & Sorrentino, G. (2022). Pisa Progetto Suburbio: L’ex Area Scheibler—Via Caruso a Pisa. Il riesame dei vecchi scavi per una nuova indagine. ΑΓΩΓΗ, XIV-XVIII, 253-273. https://doi.org/10.12871/978883339612517
  • Campus, A., & La Rosa, L. (2021). Pisa, città di pianura. Dinamiche di formazione di un paesaggio tra età ellenistica, romana e tardo-antica. In F. Fabiani & G. Gattiglia (Eds.), Paesaggi urbani e rurali in trasformazione. Contesti e dinamiche insediative letti alla luce della fonte archeologica. Atti della Giornata di Studi dei Dottorandi in Archeologia (Pisa, 22 Novembre 2019) (pp. 47-58). Archaeopress. https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/download/9781803270968
  • Fabiani, F., Gualandi, M. L., & Campus, A. (2019). Pisae (Pisa). Le Terme di Nerone. In M. Medri & A. Pizzo (Eds.), Le terme pubbliche nell’Italia romana (II secolo a.C. – fine IV d.C.) Architettura, tecnologia e società (pp. 301–313). Edizioni Roma TrE-Press. https://doi.org/10.13134/978-88-32136-86-9
  • Campus, A. (2016). Il complesso delle Terme “di Nerone” a Pisa. Studi Classici e Orientali, 62, 205–236. http://doi.org/10.12871/978886741654710
  • Campus, A., Della Giustina, S., & La Rosa, L. (2015). Il saggio IV. In V. Di Cola & F. Pitzalis (Eds.), Materiali per Populonia 11 (pp. 83–102). Edizioni ETS.
SNS
Sapienza Università di Roma
AIT
EU
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